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September 30, 2011

Writers: How to get your book on the New York Times best-seller list

I’ve written about this once before, but today I got another email from an author marketing coach saying:

“Whether you're shooting for the top 100 or top 10, hitting the Amazon bestseller list is extremely important.”

No it’s not.

Sure, you can then say your book is a “best seller” or an “Amazon Best Seller.” But the increasingly savvy reader knows this means next to nothing.

What it does mean is that you got all your friends and family and maybe the people on your mailing list to buy a copy of your book on the same day, or that you got a bunch of bloggers to agree to give their list bonuses if they buy the book then.

On that day, if you have enough buyers, your book is in the Amazon top 10 or top 100.

The next day it may be back to 156,981 or 512,934.

Another email from someone claiming to have a new way to get you to the top of the Amazon list states: "Dear Fellow Author, Are you ready to write "Amazon Bestselling Author" after your name? The respect and trust the title “#1 Bestseller” allows authors to charge double, triple, even quadruple for their products and services. People are happy to pay those prices, too, due to the opportunity to work with an esteemed expert. Owning the coveted "Bestseller" title changes your game completely."

Didn't the writer of that blurb have any sense of irony when she referred to "the respect and trust" that you'll get...from gaming the Amazon system for a day (or whatever other manipulation she's offering to sell people for a mere $147?).

I have an even better method. Would you like to know how to be able to say that your book was on the New York Times best-seller list? Here is Wolff’s foolproof method and it takes even less work than the Amazon plan and I'm giving to you for the bargain amount of absolutely nothing.

Comments

I’ve written about this once before, but today I got another email from an author marketing coach saying:

“Whether you're shooting for the top 100 or top 10, hitting the Amazon bestseller list is extremely important.”

No it’s not.

Sure, you can then say your book is a “best seller” or an “Amazon Best Seller.” But the increasingly savvy reader knows this means next to nothing.

What it does mean is that you got all your friends and family and maybe the people on your mailing list to buy a copy of your book on the same day, or that you got a bunch of bloggers to agree to give their list bonuses if they buy the book then.

On that day, if you have enough buyers, your book is in the Amazon top 10 or top 100.

The next day it may be back to 156,981 or 512,934.

Another email from someone claiming to have a new way to get you to the top of the Amazon list states: "Dear Fellow Author, Are you ready to write "Amazon Bestselling Author" after your name? The respect and trust the title “#1 Bestseller” allows authors to charge double, triple, even quadruple for their products and services. People are happy to pay those prices, too, due to the opportunity to work with an esteemed expert. Owning the coveted "Bestseller" title changes your game completely."

Didn't the writer of that blurb have any sense of irony when she referred to "the respect and trust" that you'll get...from gaming the Amazon system for a day (or whatever other manipulation she's offering to sell people for a mere $147?).

I have an even better method. Would you like to know how to be able to say that your book was on the New York Times best-seller list? Here is Wolff’s foolproof method and it takes even less work than the Amazon plan and I'm giving to you for the bargain amount of absolutely nothing.